2 found slain in SUV

Wednesday

Nov 14, 2012 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Stockton police are investigating a possible murder-suicide after a Waste Management worker making his daily rounds Tuesday discovered the bodies of two adults in the back seat of a Mitsubishi Montero.

Jason Anderson

STOCKTON - Stockton police are investigating a possible murder-suicide after a Waste Management worker making his daily rounds Tuesday discovered the bodies of two adults in the back seat of a Mitsubishi Montero.

An unidentified man and woman were found in the silver sport utility vehicle, which was in the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn in the 1700 block of East Fremont Street, just south of Interstate 5. Authorities also found a handgun in the vehicle. They believe the man shot the woman before killing himself, said Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.

"Homicide detectives located an adult male and an adult female along with a firearm inside the vehicle," Silva said. "That's a strong indication, so far, that this is a possible murder-suicide."

The woman's murder marks the 63rd homicide Stockton police have investigated this year.

The bodies were found by Chon Rodriguez, a 57-year-old Stockton man whose garbage truck remained on the scene hours after the discovery.

"Their car was in the way of me getting my Dumpster, so I looked over and saw (the man and woman) lying there," Rodriguez said. "When I looked through the back window, I could see the man was bleeding from the nose and face."

A man working at the motel said the vehicle had been parked there since at least 8:30 p.m. Monday.

A 22-year-old Stockton man and a 17-year-old Livermore girl said they were smoking marijuana behind the Dumpster on Sunday evening when they saw an Asian man in the Montero, which was parked in the same location.

"It was almost like he was mad that we were behind the Dumpster," the male witness said. "He backed out and started revving his engine and gave us this mean look. Then he pulled back into that parking spot, and he's been there ever since."

The pair said they saw the man talking on his cellphone Sunday, adding that he seemed agitated, gripping the steering wheel while rocking back and forth.

Stockton police Lt. Tom Jernigan said the vehicle was registered to an address in Stockton, but authorities did not release the names of the deceased Tuesday pending notification of family members.

Michael Andrews, 54, who has been staying at the motel for four months, said: "It's a little bit shocking when it's this close to home."

A woman staying at the motel said she wasn't surprised to find a homicide investigation unfolding outside her room.

"This is the Red Roof Inn, and this is Stockton," said the woman, who asked not to be identified. "It's a sad reality of Stockton. It just seems to be the norm: Pull out a gun. Don't talk to people. Just shoot. This would have freaked me out a few years ago. Now, it's just another sad statistic."